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The First Duty
' |image= |series= |production= 40275-219 |producer(s)= |story= |script= Ronald D. Moore Naren Shankar |director= Paul Lynch |imdbref=tt0708797 |guests=Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher, Ray Walston as Boothby, Robert Duncan McNeill as Nicholas Locarno, Ed Lauter as Lt. Cmdr. Albert, Richard Fancy as Capt. Satelk, Jacqueline Brookes as Admiral Brand, Walker Brandt as Jean Hajar, Shannon Fill as Sito Jaxa |previous_production=Cause and Effect |next_production=Cost of Living |episode=TNG S05E19 |airdate= 30 March 1992 |previous_release=Cause and Effect |next_release=Cost of Living |story_date(s)=45703.9 (2368) |previous_story=Cause and Effect |next_story=Cost of Living }} =Summary= The Enterprise returns to Earth, where Captain Picard is scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Starfleet Academy's graduation ceremony. However, the crew comes to learn of an accident during flight training that has injured Wesley Crusher, and caused the death of fellow Nova Squadron member Joshua Albert. Picard, concerned, orders his crew to investigate the accident. They discover evidence that Wesley's squad was attempting to perform a banned maneuver called the "Kolvoord Starburst." Picard accosts Wesley and demands to know the truth, but Wesley responds that an answer would be self-incriminating. Picard reminds him of his Starfleet duty. Wesley is torn between telling the truth and meeting the demands of Nova Squadron leader Nick Locarno, who insists that the accident was Joshua's fault. Locarno attempts to coerce Wesley into backing up the lie, tearing Wesley between their friendship and their obligations as Starfleet Officers. At the hearing, Wesley is forced to choose between: Picard's trust in him, and the emotions of Joshua's father; his loyalty to Nova Squadron, with whom he has been close-knit for a long time. The Admiral decides, in the absence of conclusive proof of any further wrongdoing (aside from rendering an incorrect flight plan, and allowing a squad member to fly unprepared) to take away the squad's flight privileges and issue formal reprimands. Before she can close the hearing, though, Wesley steps up and reveals the truth behind the accident. Realizing he cannot hide it any longer, Locarno admits that he instigated the lie and pressured the rest of the squad to support it. He is expelled from the Academy, while Wesley and the rest of Nova Squadron lose their past year's academic credits along with their flight privileges. Wesley is disappointed in himself, but Picard encourages him that - while the immediate future will be difficult - he will eventually regain the trust of his classmates, and the respect that comes with it. Wes, however, doesn't believe such is the case =Errors and Explanations= Plot Oversights # Riker comparing his Academy Superintendent to a parent. Riker lived with his father until the age of 15. Internet Movie Database Character error # When Wesley is undergoing questioning, he says that he transported to Mimas (which is one of Saturn's moons), and pronounces it, "mee-mus". The correct pronunciation is "my-mus". It's difficult to believe that a Starfleet cadet, much less Wesley, wouldn't know this. Wes may be using an altenative pronunciation. Plot holes # It is unlikely that students would be allowed to fly a demonstration such as seen here. This type of flying requires years of experience and hundreds of hours of practice as is the case for contemporary military demonstration teams. Cadet students would not have the time required to practice nor the hours of flight time experience to even qualify for such a team. Unlikely, but not impossible - Nova Squadron may have been deemed sufficently proficent to perfom such a demonstration. Nit Central # Bela Okmyx on Sunday, October 01, 2000 - 6:25 pm: Suppose Nova Squadron was actually able to pull off their stunt at graduation. Was everyone supposed to be so awed by this spectacular display that they would forget that this was an illegal and highly dangerous maneuver? And would any captain want a hot-headed showoff like Locarno to serve on his ship? Spockania on Monday, October 02, 2000 - 12:57 pm: The answer? Probably. Starfleet does seem to have a rule that the results do justify the methods. There are more examples of this than can be believed sometimes. Peter on Tuesday, October 03, 2000 - 2:27 am: Yeah, Bela, just watch DS9. Sisko felt sorry for the Cardassians for some reason and decided to tell them about the coming Klingon invasion, nearly destroying useful long term allies for no reason at all. He was not punished because their attack on the station merely almost succeeded.LUIGI NOVI on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 10:42 pm: Equating the cadet's actions to those of captains who have broken the rules at various times is preposterous. First of all, the cadets didn't do what they did because their backs were to the wall, and they were in a no-win crisis situation involving lives at risk where they had to make a difficult choice, as did Picard in Justice, Pen Pals, and Homeward, etc. They ELECTED to do what they did for personal glory, not to save lives. Second, whatever Kirk or Picard or Sisko did, they did not cover up those acts. Even if it were decided by Starfleet Command that their actions were wrong, they all had a good faith belief that their actions were the correct ones, and all them accurately document their actions in their logs for review by Starfleet, as seen in episodes like Coming of Age (TNG), The Drumhead (TNG), and Trials and Tribble-ations (DS9). No such thing can be said for the cadets. As for Peter's irrational comments, let's clarify a couple of things, shall we? First, Cardassia had fairly good relations with the Federation by the end of DS9's third season, not just the Klingons. A treaty existed between the Cardis and the Federation since a year before The Wounded (TNG), and the Cardis also signed one with Bajor in Life Support (DS9). Relations seemed pretty good by the end of Explorers(DS9). Second, saying the Sisko nearly destroyed long-term allies, or that he did what he did cuz he "felt sorry" for the Cardis is silly, not only because had he not did what he did, another ally would've simply been destroyed instead, but also because it absolves the Klingons of all guilt. The Feds did what they did not simply because the invasion of Cardassia was wrong, but because of what it represented, a shift back towards the old ways for the Klingons, where they sought to expand their empire through conquest. This was made quite clear in the episode by the fact that Cardassia was not their only target. Martok's son and his friends started trouble on DS9, presuming to interrogate its citizens, and Gowron even ordered Colonel Kaybok to stop ships in Bajoran space. The Feds had to make it clear to the Empire that they would not be pushed, or allow others in the A-Quad to be pushed around. Spockania, as for your assertion that Starfleet has a rule that results justify the methods, again, I would point out that rule-bending may be justified in the eyes of SF if it has the effect of saving lives, preserving the peace, maintaining territories, bringing criminals to justice, etc., and in general, things that benefit the interests of the Federation, and stability in the A-Quad. I fail to see where exactly the "results" would've been in a dangerous shuttle maneuver that serves only the cadet's personal glory. Obviously, there are times when the captains do make some questionable decisions, particularly Janeway, but it should be pointed out that these are usually slip-ups on the part of the writer, who may not think it through when writing some of these things, like Kirk's leaving certain artifacts behind on Sigma Iotia at the end of A Piece of the Action (TOS), or Janeway giving the Hirogen holotechnology at the end of The Killing Game Part 2 (VOY). In these cases, the writers, for whatever reason, seem genuinely unaware of these plot deficiencies. In The First Duty, they are obviously depicting the cadets' actions with the awareness that their actions were wrong. It would be hypocrisy if the writers showed both main characters and the cadets breaking important rules for the same reasons, and not dealing with them identically, but when they do with the captains, it is usually for good internal reasons, in situations different from that of the cadets', or for external bad writing. # Daniel Toye on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 3:33 pm: Is this Locarno and Tom Paris supposed to be one and the same person? If not, why not? How difficult would it be just to have worked this into Tom's character? And if so, how come the name is different? Did he change it after leaving the Academy - not likely cos his dad (supposedly an Admiral) is called Paris too. The only explaination could be that he changed his name before going into the Academy so as not to be "under the shadow" and changed it back once he left. Brian Fitzgerald on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 8:05 pm: They are different characters. It would have been simple to make Tom Paris into Locarno but for whatever reason TPTB decided to have Tom as a new character. LUIGI NOVI on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 10:12 pm: The probable reason is that Locarno never confessed of his own accord, and pushed the cover up forward, even when Wesley wanted to come clean. Paris, on the other hand, as he told Harry in Caretaker, falsified the report of the flight accident that killed 3 other officers, and would've gotten away with it, but his conscience couldn't take it, so he confessed, demonstrating that he was a conflicted guy who wanted to do the right thing, and struggled to do so, whereas Nick was not remorseful or penitent about his actions, and therefore, made a less than honorable character. ScottN on Monday, May 21, 2001 - 10:20 pm: ''Now for the (non-trek) real world reason. They would have had to pay royalties to the writer of "The First Duty" for every episode Nick Locarno appeared in. This has been discussed elsewhere.''Chris Diehl on Sunday, May 11, 2003 - 12:32 am: Locarno could probably not have been used in place of Paris on Voyager, because Paris was a Starfleet officer, even though he was in a brig when Janeway met him. Nick Locarno was tossed from the Academy, and I doubt Janeway has the pull to get him a commission in the face of his actions. # Keith Alan Morgan (Kmorgan) on Thursday, July 26, 2001 - 4:44 am: There is mention of hitting the emergency transporter and later Wes says that he managed to activate his escape transporter. If the purpose of these things is to save lives, then why does it have to be manually operated? Isn't that like having an air bag in a car that must be blown up by the driver before a crash? NarkS on Thursday, July 26, 2001 - 11:28 am: We're talking about an escape mechanism, not a safety feature. Would you want an ejector seat that could be automatically activated when your craft senses danger? The training craft were too far from the evac station for the auto beam-out to activate. # Picard says the First Duty is to the Truth! If that is true, then why did Picard allow the Paxans to mess around with the crew's memories in Clues? It was the only way to prevent the Paxans from destroying the Enterprise. # Chris Diehl on Sunday, May 11, 2003 - 12:32 am: I think the commandant of the Academy let the other members of Nova Squadron stay and repeat their present year because of Locarno. He took personal responsibility for Albert's death, for the cover-up and for pressuring them into trying the Kolvoord starburst. As he was their effective CO, and an upperclassman, he could argue that they were acting under his direction, so he had to take the blame when something went wrong. I guess Starfleet considers that to be the duty of a commanding officer to his command. =Notes= =Sources= Category:Episodes Category:The Next Generation